Why should you reference? References enhance your writing and assist your reader by: showing the breadth of your research strengthening your academic argument showing the reader the source of your information allowing the reader to consult your sources independently and allowing the reader to verify your data.

What is plagiarism?  Plagiarism is the intentional use of someone else’s ideas, words or concepts in your assignment work. It is considered serious misconduct at university in English speaking countries and should be avoided at all times.

What do they say about plagiarism?  Many Australian universities have we sites that contain information for students, and virtually all of these have some information about plagiarism. The issue of plagiarism usually appears in the section about university laws and regulations, because in Australia plagiarism is perceived to be a criminal issue. At best it is described as “clearly unfair” and at worst, “plagiarism is theft” (Sydney University, 1996). It is an act of deception or “academic fraud” (University of Technology Sydney, 1998), and “a very serious violation” (Macquarie University, 2000).  TAFE NSW. (2001) English Language and Literacy. Sydney.

Unacceptable: poor cut-and-paste practice Plagiarism most commonly exists in four ways. The first is when the work submitted or presented was done by someone other than the one submitting the work. Secondly, if the whole work, such as an essay, is copied from some other source. A third type of plagiarism is when parts of the work are taken from another source and no reference is made to the original author. Finally, if a student submits or presents work in one course which has also been submitted in another course and has not sought approval from the course coordinator to do so, this is also plagiarism. It can be seen, therefore, that plagiarism involves submitting or presenting work in a course as if it were the student’s own work done expressly for that particular course when, in fact, it is not (Central Queensland University (CQU) 2002, p. 50).

When to use referencing?  References must be provided whenever you use someone else’s opinions, theories, data or organization of material. You need to reference information from books, articles, videos, computers, other print or electronic sources, and personal communications.  A reference is required if you: quote (use someone else’s exact words) copy (use figures, tables or structure) paraphrase (convert someone else’s ideas into your own words) summarize (use a brief account of someone else’s ideas).

What happens when plagiarism occurs? Central Queensland University (CQU) views the process of attempting to circumvent assessment requirements very seriously. Indeed conduct of that sort may result in the suspension or exclusion of a student.

How to avoid plagiarism? One of the strategies is referencing.

In-text referencing  When you write an essay or report at a college or university, you will need to research your topic. In other words, you will need to find out as much information as you can about the topic before you begin to do your writing.

In-text referencing and reference list  You need to acknowledge when you are using someone else’s work or ideas. Basically in your writing you need to provide the original author’s name, the year in which the resource was published and a page reference. This is called in-text referencing. As well, you will need a list of the resources you refer to in your writing. This list is called a reference list. The reference list is attached to the back of your essay or report. This practice of acknowledging authors is known as referencing.

Paraphrase or quotations?  It is preferable that you paraphrase (put ideas in your own words), since too many quotations (using the exact words) can lead to a poorly written assignment. A general rule in academic circles is that no more than 10% of an assignment should be in the form of direct quotations.  No matter whether you use quotations or paraphrase another’s words, you always need to give references — both in the text and in the reference list.  We can use samples of text from CQU’s plagiarism policy to illustrate acceptable and unacceptable methods of using information in your assignments.

Paraphrasing Paraphrasing means to restate accurately and succinctly in your own words something you have read. If your work does not refer to specific ideas on particular pages of a resource but to general themes mentioned throughout the resource, page numbers need not be shown. General theme Studies (Tanner, 1999) indicate that the economic structure of Australia today is far more unpredictable and unstable than it was thirty years ago. Specific idea Tanner (1999, p. 22) claims that the introduction of the GST in the Australian economic structure has not impacted the price of fuels.

Principles of author-date referencing  There are two parts to the author-date system of referencing. Part I: The author and the date are referred to in the text or main body of your writing, called embedded or in-text referencing. Par II: All of the resources referred to in the body of the writing are included in the reference list at the end of the assignment. All information is included in this list: author, date, title of publication, publisher and where it was published.

Ways of citing  The in-text reference should be placed (cited) in such a way that it causes minimal disruption to the flow of your writing: this usually means at the very end or the very beginning of your sentences.  There are two ways of citing references: author prominent and information prominent.

Author prominent This way gives prominence to the author by using the author’s surname (family name) as part of your sentence with the date and the page number in parentheses (round brackets). Direct quote example Cowie (1996, p. 91) argues that ‘socialism rejected the liberal ideals of individualism and competition’. Paraphrase example Cowie (1996) suggests that unlike capitalism, socialism promotes the good of the whole before the good of the individual.

Information prominent The other way of citing references gives prominence to the information, with all the required referencing details in parentheses at the end of the citation. Direct quote example It has been argued that ‘socialism rejected the liberal ideals of individualism and competition’ (Cowie, 1996, p. 91). Paraphrase example Unlike capitalism, socialism promotes the good of the whole before the good of the individual (Cowie, 1996).

Elements for referencing a book For a book, the following elements should be presented in this order: 1. surname and initials of author(s) 2. year of publication 3. title of book (in italics) in minimal capitalization 4. the edition, for example, 4th ed, if not the original publication 5. publisher 6. place of publication. Example: Shearman, D & Sauer-Thompson, G 1997, Green or gone, Wakefield Press, Kent Town.

Minimal capitalization 1. Jones, B 1999, The history of rock: John Lennon, Zen Publishing, London. 2. Kaye, M 1994, Communication management, Prentice-Hall, Sydney. 3. Queensland women 1999, Green light for operation glass ceiling, retrieved 22 May 2000, 4. Davies, P 1996, Key mistake wreaks havoc, Australian, 18 June, p. 1. retrieved12 August 1997,

Maximal capitalization 1. Anderson, A & Ellis, A 2001, Using Desktop Video to Enhance Music Instruction, Australian Press, Sydney.

Document on the World Wide Web (no author/sponsor) Harvard Style 2003, Citing or Referencing Electronic Sources of Information, viewed 3 June 2003, n/students/Lguides/harvard-referencing.pdf Note: Sometimes there may be an editor’s name given on the page.

Government sponsored web sites Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998, One in Four Children Do not Live with Both Natural Parents, viewed 25 July 2002,

Tutorial/workshop handout (unpublished) 1. The Respiratory System. Tutorial handout distributed in the unit, HHM72160 Human Anatomy, Central Queensland University, Gladstone on 2 March, Australia’s Education System. Tutorial handout distributed in class, NSWTESL4194 EFS, Granville TAFE, Sydney on 5 August Note: No italics nor quotation marks are shown because class handouts are unpublished sources

News broadcast on radio Examples of how to refer to the resource in-text The discovery was first announced on 4BU News on 14 February 2000.

Newspaper article without an author In The Advertiser (23 October 2001, p. 10) … or Reform to tax laws was mentioned as ‘…’ (The Advertiser, 23 October 2001, p. 10). Note: At EFS level, you are encouraged not to use newspaper articles without an author. You should seek to locate a more acceptable scholarly representation of the information you wish to use.

Newspaper reference model to follow in the reference list Advertiser, the, Federal election: new chip in politics. 23 October 2009, p. 10. Note: In this case the name of the newspaper is substituted for the name of the sponsoring body.

Real person interview Smithton, J. The Primary Education System in Pakistan. Interviewed for EFS assignment, Granville TAFE, Sydney on 9 August 2009.

Recap Five important things to ask: 1. Who is the author? 2. What is the year o f publication? 3. What is the title? 4. Who is the publisher? 5. What is the place of publication?